Ebay J-Code(?) Driver Project

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Joined
Apr 24, 2013
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Location
SE MI
My Car
1971 J Code Mach 1
1972 H Code Mach 1
I did pick up the blue Mach 1 from the Ebay ad. I partially expect that at some point it'll turn out to be a fake, but for now it seems to be legit...

I'm trying to figure out what the car should look like based on the Marti and parts that are there. Questions/ pics coming soon!

 
Starting with the interior:

The invoice only mentions "Mach 1 Sports Interior Group."

I know that outfits the car with left instrument hole clock (can't see it in my crappy pic) and center gauges, but does that spec the camera-case wrinkle finish on the instrument and glove box/ Pass. dash trim?

The center gauge trim is wrong- it shouldn't be wood grain (no Deluxe int.) and it shouldn't have vents (car is no A/C), I think the finish of this panel should match the others- the wrinkly camera-case?

Console or lack of- did I read somewhere that all cars came with the mini-console and one could order the full length? Seems I've seen cars with no console so not sure if this is model based (i.e. Sports Interior or vert or something).

Shifter handle- shown below is a handle that has a black faux-vinyl wrap- is this an upgrade over the simple chromed metal handle?

That's it for now... 

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Hello mjlan,

The Mach1 Sports Interior option included the following, knitted vinyl (comfort weave) high back bucket seats, deluxe 2 spoke steering wheel with wood grain inserts, left side  instrument panel clock (clock standard only on Grande), bright pedal trims, molded deluxe  door panels,  left and right camera case instrument panel  trim, center instrument warning gauges with wood grain panel, rear ash tray, and vinyl inserts in the front carpet .Considering all the upgraded content, this was a very nice option.

The mini console was standard on ALL models. The long console was a standalone option across the board. If your car had the instrument cluster clock then the console had a "Mustang" or "Mach1" plate in the front of the console. If your car had the tachometer which was part of the instrumentation group option (standard on Boss 351) then the long console would include a clock.

The shifter handle is another one of those unexplained 71-73 mysteries. Those are actually handles that were sourced from the 68/ Torino line. I have two Mach 1's  that have Mach 1 Sport interiors and are optioned like thousands of other 71-73's. Nothing special, but both have the textured handles. My cousin bought an absolutely loaded to the gills '73 Cougar XR-7 and it had a chrome handle.You would figure that the more expensive and highly optioned Cougar would have the leather look handle!  He finally did go to the Dealer and order a handle like in my Mach1. After getting into a car that had been sitting in a parking lot in the hot sun all day and burning his hand on the heated handle, he had enough! (These were daily drivers then)  Cost him a whopping $18.30!   

Edit: missed the center vent questain. Only AC cars had the center vents. Non-AC cars had a small storage compartment at that location. That could be a salvage yard panel that was used to replace a damaged one and just happened to be from an AC car. 

 
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Thanks for the detailed response, your input is always valuable! I didn't realize the Mach 1 Sports Interior option included all of the woodgrain stuff. I guess I need to find my '71 facts book!

There are black standard door panels and uppers in the car now. The inside door handles are different between std. and deluxe, so I need to see if there's evidence of those being changed.

-Matt

 
Any idea where I could get "Mustang" or "Mach1" delete plate for the front of the large console?. I had NO idea they came with one. So........ I kinda made my own with a running chrome mustang. 

Thanks

 
Any idea where I could get "Mustang" or "Mach1" delete plate for the front of the large console?. I had NO idea they came with one. So........ I kinda made my own with a running chrome mustang. 

Thanks
There's on in  the classifieds




 
Hello machattack,

 Unless an original owner, you probably don't have an ideal what hell these cars went through when new. A lot of these full length consoles were removed (by my friends anyway) because of elbow to console lid banging when speed shifting, girlfriend of the week could sit next to you, or got busted from "Other" activities! My Money Pit #2 had a full length console with the "Mach1" plate. When I acquired her I found the pieces of what was a console at one time along with other expired causalities in the trunk. So a lot of these type "things" didn't survive the early years. So there are many reasons why many of these type items are on the missing list and later owners are not sure what they look like.. 

 As suggested in an earlier post, You could check with Don @ Ohio Mustang Supply or Mike @ Motor City Mustang. As elusive as this part is, they just might have one or at least a lead on one. If you do decide to look for one on line the part# for the Mach1 plate is D1ZZ-6304428-A (ID# D1ZB-AA-AB) And Mustang", D1ZZ-6304428-B (ID# D1ZB-BA).

The 71-73 Cougar did not have a instrument cluster mounted clock, so when the optional full length console was ordered (same one as used in Mustang) the clock was included. So the Cougar would not be a source for the blank plate.

One other option could be to make one yourself.Early last month Stanglover (Geoff) was kind enough to provide a drawing with dimensions when Big Red Mach1 was looking for a solution for the clock area on his console.

 
Thank you for your answers Fellers 🙂 

I will check it out from here. Hopefully they are NOT priced like the map light.

 
Date code question. Poking around on the internet suggests that the decklid date code is  August 26 2nd shift at Cleveland stamping plant. That sound right?

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Driver's door is 9 2 W3, which is a couple days ahead of my build date.

So below is the engine block in the car. I can't find an assembly plant code of 'Z' anywhere, so maybe that letter is wrong. The partial VIN starting with '5' means it was a Mercury I believe.

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No stamping plant in Cleveland Ohio ... had engine plant number 1 and number 2 though

Had a stamping plant in Walton Hills Ohio   not sure what that code was

 
That MustangTek site must be incorrect then. Google searching turned up that the stamping plant in Cleveland (Walton Hills) was code 'C'.

 
Driver's door is 9 2 W3, which is a couple days ahead of my build date.

So below is the engine block in the car. I can't find an assembly plant code of 'Z' anywhere, so maybe that letter is wrong. The partial VIN starting with '5' means it was a Mercury I believe.


Z is St Louis, they built full size cars there. 

 
That MustangTek site must be incorrect then. Google searching turned up that the stamping plant in Cleveland (Walton Hills) was code 'C'.
Walton Hills stamping was 30 miles from Cleveland

My dad was tool and die man at the Walton Hills plant when it opened in 1954 until he retired in 85 ... Ford recruited him from GM ....thank goodness or it might be Ohio Camaro supply.

 
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Thanks Hemikiller, so 1970 full size Mercury of some kind.

Anybody got any definitive history on D0OE-R heads with 'SPEC' instead of a date code? The 460Ford forum has varying opinions from a special run of castings to early or pre-production release. I'm not seeing a consensus.

-Matt

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After getting the car home and poking around there were some things that I felt needed to be addressed before racking up some miles. First was rear springs and shocks. The springs were tired and questionable air shocks had been installed, unpleasant ride to say the least...

Before & after. I didn't have new springs kicking around, and after shopping decided on a cheaper option of 135 lb./ in springs (from https://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/42-547.htm), some new KYB GR2 shocks the PO had purchased but not installed and an Energy Suspension poly bushing kit that I had bought for another project.

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And, there's an aftermarket axle in the right side. Interesting.

Does seem to be the original center section, or at least an original tag!

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After getting it back together I took it out for a ride and found out that the front suspension is horrible as well. The rear suspension work happened 6/13-14, I started the front work last weekend.

In the process of going through the front brakes,  I broke both front brake lines at the transition to the soft lines.....

Found that the idler arm to drag link nut was finger tight, hopefully that was major contributor to the majorly sketchy steering and banging noise coming from the front end. Also found one broken caliper bolt on each side as well as non-existent bushings at the tops of both front shocks.

So at the moment, the list is:

*Front shocks

*Front hard brake lines

*Rotors/ calipers/ pads

*Brake hoses

I'll try and sneak in some time on it this weekend.

 
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Given what you're finding, I'd be inclined to drop the entire front suspension out and rebuild it completely. I have found some very sketchy work on supposedly "done" cars over the years. 

 
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